What's bright yellow, makes a huge splash and is certain to be the "quackiest" event in Southern California this Saturday? It's Northrop Grumman's Rubber Duck Race, sponsored by the company's El Segundo-based Integrated Systems sector. Members of the news media are invited to watch more than 1,200 rubber ducks "leap" from the Manhattan Beach pier and "surf" the waves to shore on Saturday, Oct. 18.

At approximately 9:45 a.m., a giant "mother duck" (an employee in full costume) will arrive in a yellow convertible accompanied by the sounds of "Disco Duck." She will escort her "brood" (more than 1,200 small rubber ducks carried in plastic trash containers) onto the pier. When an airhorn is sounded to start the race, the small ducks will be tossed into the water just beyond the waveline. Owners of the first 10 ducks to reach shore will receive prizes, with a color TV awarded to the overall winner.

The rubber ducks have been "adopted" for $5 each by Northrop Grumman employees and family members and entered into the race. Approximately 250 contestants of all ages are expected to be on hand to root for their "feathered" friends.

To date, more than $4,700 has been raised for charitable organizations in the greater Los Angeles area. The Rubber Duck Race is part of the company's Holiday Giving program, an institution at Northrop Grumman since 1952, with employees thinking of ever more creative ways to raise funds. Last year, Integrated Systems employees nationwide contributed more than $130,000 to the program.